Supreme Court Rejects NJ Immunity Defense In NY, Pa. Suits

By Carla Baranauckas

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that New Jersey cannot shield its public transit system from personal injury lawsuits by out-of-state plaintiffs under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

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NJ Judge Faces Ethics Charge Over Pro-Palestinian Hat

By James Mills

The New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct has filed a misconduct complaint against Judge Steven A. Brister, who wore pro-Palestinian garb at an industry conference.

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Appeals Panel Debates NJ's Duty In Prosecutor Ethics Case

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appellate panel on Wednesday weighed whether it was in the state's best interest to represent an assistant prosecutor in an ethics proceeding, questioning how a prosecutor is different from any other attorney called before the disciplinary board.

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NJ Panel Reinstates Award In Firefighter Dental Benefits Fight

By Katherine Smith

A New Jersey state appeals panel has reinstated an arbitration award ordering the city of Paterson to pay the dental health insurance plan costs for members of a firefighters union, ruling that the city must cover the costs under the terms of its contract with the union.

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Healthcare In Court

Panel Backs NJ Corrections In Trans Woman's Transfer Bid

By Parker Quinlan

A transgender woman convicted of a violent sex crime in New Jersey will not be allowed to transfer to a women's facility because a civil commitment law does not require state prison officials to create sex-segregated facilities, a state appeals court ruled in a published opinion Wednesday.

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Fashion Tech Biz CEO Pleads Guilty To $300M Investor Fraud

By Katryna Perera

The founder of bankrupt apparel technology company CaaStle Inc. pled guilty Wednesday to one count of securities fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud hundreds of investors out of $300 million by using sham documents to falsely promote a "rapidly growing business" supposedly worth $1.4 billion.

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50 Cent's Liquor Boss Gets 2nd Delay Of Fraud Sentencing

By Carla Baranauckas

A former executive at rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's liquor brand got his fraud sentence delayed for a second time when a New Jersey federal judge questioned Wednesday whether the executive's hypothetical cooperation with the government could get fair consideration under his plea deal.

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FERC Can't Justify Nixing Grid-Planning Change, DC Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission failed to justify its rejection of a PJM Interconnection plan to make grid-planning decisions without the approval of the regional grid operator's members committee, transmission owners told the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

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OpenAI Practices Law Without A License, Insurer Alleges

By Lauren Berg

OpenAI is practicing law without a license, according to an insurer's lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court that alleges artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT provided faulty legal advice to a woman seeking disability benefits that led to a breached settlement and a flurry of frivolous court filings.

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Analysis

UK Law Sector's Private Equity Boom Offers Lessons For US

By Ryan Boysen

Private equity money is pouring into the U.K. legal sector, fueling a wave of consolidation in consumer-facing practices and offering a glimpse of what it could look like if outside investment in the U.S. legal industry takes off.

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Criminal Contempt Of DOJ Attys Unlikely For Violating Orders

By Jack Karp

Federal judges have been floating the possibility of holding government attorneys in criminal contempt of court for violating immigration-related court orders, a potentially shocking move that scholars say is unlikely and probably less effective than civil contempt orders.

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Lindsey Halligan Faces Fla. Bar Investigation, Watchdog Says

By Lauren Berg

The Florida Bar is investigating Lindsey Halligan, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who pursued controversial indictments against President Donald Trump's political opponents, according to a letter the Campaign for Accountability made public Thursday.

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Troutman And Former Atty Push To Limit Scope Of Bias Trial

By Jake Maher

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and a former associate suing the firm for racial discrimination and retaliation this week fought over the role that charged language and calculations of financial damages should play in an upcoming trial.

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Atty's Scheduling Error Dooms Appeal In AT&T Forfeiture Suit

By Patrick Hoff

An AT&T worker can't ask the Ninth Circuit to review the dismissal of his proposed class action claiming the telecommunications company misused forfeited 401(k) funds, with a California federal judge saying his attorney's busy schedule was "one of the least compelling excuses" for filing a late appeal.

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Analysis

A Look At Four States' Tort Reform Legislation Fights

By Y. Peter Kang

There are currently four states debating whether to install business-friendly tort reform legislation or medical malpractice guardrails. The issues include a potentially brutal showdown in California over auto collision litigation and efforts in Florida to expand wrongful death liability for healthcare providers.

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Ex-Judge In Wis. Says ICE Prosecution Theory Has No Limits

By Britain Eakin

A former Wisconsin judge has said the government's case against her for obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no limiting principle and wrongly turned her authority to manage her courtroom into a federal felony for impeding ICE.

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Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Judicial Nominees Advance

By Courtney Bublé

Four judicial nominees advanced out of committee Thursday along party lines, which included two for Texas.

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